With power consumption soaring lately as a result of the high temperatures around the nation, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has taken action to ensure an adequate power supply over the next two months.
On Thursday, daytime temperatures exceeded 31?C in many parts of the nation, with the temperature in Taipei surging to 35?C at 11:36am.
Power consumption on Thursday peaked at 33.01 million kilowatts at 2:01pm, with operating reserves at 6.01 percent prompting a yellow warning, indicating tight power supply, Taipower said.
Yesterday, power consumption reached as high as 32.81 million kilowatts at 1:59pm, with operating reserves at 4.08 percent, prompting an orange warning light that indicated a tight power supply, the firm said.
A yellow warning is issued when reserves fall between 6 percent and 10 percent, while an orange warning indicates operating reserves below 6 percent, with a red warning issued when reserves fall to less than 900,000 kilowatts.
A black alert means consumers have to prepare for power rationing, while a green light means operating reserves are above 10 percent.
Taipower said that it is working to ensure that a nuclear power generator comes online by May 20 and two other power plants are expected to return to service after undergoing annual maintenance.
The result of the measures would be that the power supply would meet the needs of the peak summer season and a red warning is unlikely to be issued in the next two months, Taipower said. Taipower Department of System Operations official Cheng You-tsai (鄭有財) attributed the tight power supply to the hot weather recently as well as the breakdown of a power generator in Taichung and the maintenance of another one in Yunlin County.
This story has been updated since it was first published.
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